Nerve and Reconstruction Plenary

Dr. Michael Miloro is Professor and Head of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. He attended college at the University of Rochester earning a B.S. degree in Neuroscience. He attended dental school at Tufts University in Boston, and medical school and residency training in General Surgery, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Miloro has held academic positions at The Ohio State University, University of Maryland, and University of Nebraska. Dr. Miloro is a Diplomate and past-Examiner for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Faculty Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, a Fellow of the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.Dr. Miloro has major clinical and research interests in orthognathic surgery, TMJ surgery, implant surgery, and trigeminal nerve injuries and reconstruction. Dr. Miloro has lectured nationally and internationally, has published extensively in the medical and dental literature with over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Miloro currently serves as the Section Editor of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and is Editor of three major textbooks including Peterson's Principles of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Complications in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Trigeminal Nerve Injuries.

Dr. Zuniga received his dental degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts in 1978. He completed a general dental residency in 1979 and an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital in 1986. He received a MS and PhD in Neuroscience in the Neuroendocrine Unit of the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1986, Center for Brain Research. He was a full time faculty member of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1986 to 2006. He served as the Program Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency from 1992 to 2005 and was the co-director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pain Program. He served as chair of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Parkland Memorial Hospital from 2006 to 2020. He currently is a professor in the Departments of Surgery and Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern in DallasDr. Zuniga has authored over 185 contributions to the scientific literature. Dr. Zuniga’s major research interest includes regenerative neuroscience of the trigeminal nerve, acute and chronic orofacial pain and taste function. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants, contracts and awards. He has served as a consultant to the editorial boards of a number of scientific and clinical journals, served on the FDA advisory panel for dental products, the examination committee of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and on several research, resident education and faculty committees for AAOMS, the OMS Foundation, the Osteo Sciences Foundation, and the ADA. He is a founding member of the Global Nerve Foundation and sits on the Board to Directors for the Foundation.As an experienced trigeminal nerve microsurgeon, Dr. Zuniga has performed more than 300 nerve repairs, He also has clinical interests in TMJ disorders, benign pathology, dentoalveolar, and trauma surgery of the oral and maxillofacial region. He has completed several multisite, randomized clinical trials in acute and chronic pain and trigeminal nerve surgery using processed nerve allografts for jaw reconstruction.

Simon Young, DDS, MD, PhD, FACS, is Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Dentistry. He completed his DDS at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, in 2003, his PhD at Rice University, Department of Bioengineering, Houston, Texas, in 2008, and his MD at University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 2011. He subsequently completed first an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and then a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Immuno-Engineering at Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Dr. Young is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He is the author of over 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has an NIH-funded laboratory that studies biomaterials-based cancer immunotherapies and maxillofacial tissue engineering.

Dr Tursun Serves as Associate Professor of Surgery at University of Miami-Miller School of Medicine where he holds the title of Director of Oral Head and Neck Oncology, Facial cosmetic and Reconstructive Microvascular Surgery.